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Sports Illustrated’s Kerry Byrne may have uncovered the statistics behind the 49ers surprising 5-1 start. According to Byrne the 49ers lead the league in offensive and defensive efficiency. Byrne quantifies efficiency as the amount points scored per yard gained on offense. For example, the 49ers score a point every 10.87 yards they gain. The make […]
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A few days into training camp, 49ers long snapper Brian Jennings had a nickname for his new special teams coordinator Brad Seely: The Professor.
It wasn’t just Seely’s glasses and close-cropped hair – he really could be grading papers instead of game f…
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The Browns’ rushing offense versus the 49ers’ rushing defense.
On paper, it appears a mismatch.
And Cleveland’s chances of denting San Francisco’s stout front seven probably did not increase Thursday after running back Peyton Hillis missed practice wi…
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When the 49ers were routinely going to the NFC title game during the glory years, players and coaches had a boiler plate phrase for the team’s success – “It starts from the top.” The 49ers most recent turnaround can also be credited to that phrase, as Scott Ostler wrote about in today’s Chronicle. On top […]
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From serving as a batboy with the A’s to helping Michael Crabtree negotiate his contract, MC Hammer has a long and frankly baffling history of showing up in sports. And now it seems he’s taken his show on the road once more. As Eric Branch reported on Wednesday, Hammer made a surprise appearance in Santa […]
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— Who is the 49ers’ MVP so far?
That question arose during a TV sports-show debate, a forum that is the symbol of the intellectual evolution of the human species.
Pondering, I decided on Patrick Willis, the team’s rock. Then I threw out Willis and we…
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— His nickname, Lord Fangio, suggests a defensive guru with the bluster of Buddy Ryan – stalking the sideline, bellowing orders to his players and hogging the headlines with bold strategic maneuvers.
His manner suggests otherwise.
Vic Fangio grew up …
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Running back Frank Gore needs 110 yards to pass Roger Craig and move into second place on the 49ers’ all-time rushing list.
Funny, it sounds as if Craig is more excited about the upcoming milestone than Gore.
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As an ex-NFL fullback, Daryl Johnston appreciates the power-run philosophy the 49ers have implemented this season.
Johnston said it bears little resemblance to the vaunted ground game in which he played with Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith and t…
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— Midweek thoughts on the NFL:
– Sign Terrell Owens, destroy your team. That’s the deal, guaranteed. Oh, and he’ll drop a pass or two each game. And he turns 38 in December.
– New answer to Jim Harbaugh’s “Who’s got it better than us?” exultation i…
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— Running back Frank Gore needs 110 yards to pass Roger Craig and move into second place on the 49ers’ all-time rushing list.
Funny, it sounds as if Craig is more excited about the upcoming milestone than Gore.
Craig, who was at the 49ers’ facility W…
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Four hours after coach Jim Harbaugh indicated he might have been a “little overly optimistic” regarding wide receiver Braylon Edwards’ playing status for Sunday, Edwards met with the media this afternoon and shed little light on his chances of playing.
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As the Rams offensive coordinator from 2009-10, Browns coach Pat Shurmur studied the 49ers defense extensively.
Now, however, the Niners have a new defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio which means … not much has changed, according to Shurmur.
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Nose tackle Ricky Jean Francois works in the Bay Area, but his heart remains in the South.
Make that the Southeastern Conference.
On Tuesday, Jean Francois, who won a national championship at LSU in 2009, envisioned a scenario in which Stanford’s Andr…
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For years, the Cowboys had Bill Bates.
And the Bills had Steve Tasker.
And the Patriots had Larry Izzo.
And, now, the 49ers have their own half-crazed special-teams standout/fan favorite in Blake Costanzo, an everyman who morphs into Superman when covering kicks.
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Who is Denver quarterback Tim Tebow? Is he the hack who played atrociously the first 55 minutes of the game against the Dolphins or is he the hero that led the Broncos to a furious 15 points and improbable 18-15 overtime win? If you look closely, he’s the same dude. Tebow wasn’t much better in […]
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Two years ago, Josh McDaniels proved the critics wrong by going undefeated in his first six games as the Broncos’ head coach.
Last season, the Patriots definitively showed the Jets who was boss in the AFC East, winning a 45-3 December blowout on “Mo…
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It appears wide receiver Braylon Edwards could play against his former team, the Cleveland Browns, on Sunday after surgery for a torn meniscus five weeks ago.
Niners coach Jim Harbaugh expressed optimism that Edwards would participate in his first prac…
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